Utah to honor King Monday with rest of country
Jessica Whatcott, staff Writer
Monday will be the first time the state of Utah will celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day with the rest of the United States.
In the 2000 legislative session, representatives did what they refused to do 14 years ago and renamed Human Rights Day in order to honor the civil rights leader who was assassinated in 1968.
Minority community leaders had been pushing for the change since1986.
It was then that the federal government and several states designated the third Monday in January as a holiday in King’s name.
Utah preferred to name the day in broad commemoration of all heroes of the civil rights movement.
Then during last year’s assembly, Sen. Pete Suazo, D-Salt Lake City, introduced SB 121 to formally change the holiday’s name to be in line with the rest of the nation.
Proponents of the bill included the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and Rep. Duane Bordeaux, D-Salt Lake City, the only black representative on Utah’s Capitol Hill.
They argued that lawmakers were belittling the memory of King by breaking with the rest of the nation on the name of the holiday.
“It’s about time,” said Suzanne Johnson, a staff assistant for Multicultural Student Services. “Who else has impacted [civil rights] as much as Martin Luther King? When I hear the words ‘I have a dream,’ I automatically think ‘equal rights for everyone.'”
Critics of the bill said the law played favorites, while “human rights” encompasses respect for other civil rights leaders like Rosa Parks.
Gayle Ruzicka, president of the Utah Eagle Forum, pointed out that Labor Day isn’t called Ceasar Chavez Day and Pioneer Day isn’t called Brigham Young Day, even though those holidays focus on the achievements of those men.
Due to this argument, the law passed only after an amendment was added to change the name Presidents Day to George Washington/Abraham Lincoln Day.
In the meantime, a separate bill failed that would have pushed the start of the Legislative session back to Tuesday instead of on the holiday like the Utah constitution incidentally mandates.
This year, then, the Legislature will continue to convene, and for the first time celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day – both on Monday. That evening the Young People’s Peace Vigil will be held at 7 p.m. at the Capitol Rotunda.
At Utah State University, the Black Student Uniton and Multicultural Student Services are sponsoring a candlelight vigil Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the Sunburst Lounge.
“Martin Luther King played a big role for society,” said Isoa Toribau, a USU student from Fiji. “If it wasn’t for his ideas and thoughts there would still be a lot of discrimination. I’m not from here, but I really respect the idea that they decided to have a day to celebrate all the pioneers that stood up to change things.”